Kabbalah - Tola'at Ya'akov; R. Meir b. Ezekiel ibn Gabbai

Kabbalah - Tola'at Ya'akov; R. Meir b. Ezekiel ibn Gabbai

ספר 'תולעת יעקב' למהר"ר מאיר בן גבאי לבוב (לעמברג) תקנ"ט

ספר 'תולעת יעקב' לבוב תקנ"ט דפוס הנגידה מרת חיי' טאבה מדפיס

השער של ספר זה נחשב לשער מזוייף קיימת מחלוקת לגבי שנת ההדפסה בין המומחים (בין רוזנפלד למפעל הביבלוגרפיה העברי) אם ת"ר או תקנ"ט 

Tola'at Ya'akov - R. Meir b. Ezekiel ibn Gabbai (1480–after 1540), kabbalist of the generation of Spanish exiles. The details of his life are not known. Apparently he lived in Turkey and possibly died in Erez Israel. He wrote three books dealing with the principal problems of Kabbalah. They are: Tola'at Ya'akov (written in 1507 and first printed in Constantinople, 1560), on the prayers; Derekh Emunah (written in 1539 and first printed Constantinople, 1560), an explanation of the doctrine of the sefirot in the form of questions and answers, based on Sha'ar ha-Sho'el by Azriel of Gerona and incorporating views of the Zohar; and Avodat ha-Kodesh, on the entire doctrine of the Kabbalah, in four parts - on the unity of G-d, the worship of G-d, the purpose of man in the universe, and an explanation of esoteric aspects of the Torah - an important work which he wrote from 1523 to 1531. The last is the most comprehensive and organized summary of the doctrine of the Kabbalah prior to the Safed period and was one of the most popular books on Kabbalah even with recent generations. It was first printed 1566–68 under the name Marot Elokim. Ibn Gabbai was one of the leading proponents of the view that the Sefirot are the essence of divinity.